The Tomigaia Blog

Visit to Japan

I am visiting Tokyo this week after being away for about 2 years. It is great to be back. So much has changed, and yet there are many places that are exactly as they were when I moved away in 2001.

Some impressions from walking through Shibuya and my old neighborhood of Tomigaya: the youth are very different from their parents. They have rebelled against the contraints of tradition, and are going to live life on their own terms.

Cell phones are now in everyone's ears. The Internet has become a commodity, and everybody is using it, all the time. Many people I speak with feel that the Japanese economy is improving. Consumer electronics seems to be selling well. Everybody seems to be upgrading their digitial camera or their cell phone.

After seeing so much positive energy in the street, I feel like Japan may improve a lot in the next few years. It's great to see it firsthand.